The Best Thing
by Nejikitty
Summary: Sasuke left and Sakura is depressed. Naruto and Sakura go on a mission and Sakura looses her memory. Naruto decides not to tell her about Sasuke. Could her life be better than ever before? sakuX? Rated T just incase.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 1

She was obsessed. He was everything to her, and he left. Without a second thought he broke her heart. The worst part is he knew exactly how she'd react. What would become of her? He didn't care. For weeks after he left she secluded herself. Naruto came to visit her several times. She didn't care. Her whole world revolved around Sasuke, who was gone. It didn't matter that Naruto was missing him too, and felt as bad if not worse then she did. Nothing mattered anymore.

"Honey, it's been a month. Tsunade asked that you go see her." her mother beckoned from downstairs.

Without a word, Sakura slipped out of her room and walked to the Hokage tower.

As Sakura was walking up to the building she saw a bright blond smiling and waving at her.

'What is he doing here?' she though, her sad face turning sour. 'He's the last person I want to deal with right now.' As she neared him he saw the cold empty look in her eye. His big grin faded, as he realized she probably just wanted to get this over with and go back into her dark room. He could take a hint. With a small nod they climbed the stairs and got to Tsunade's office.

"Hello!" chirped Tsunade cheerfully. "How are you feeling today?" she slurred slightly. A little too much sake for the Godaime this morning.

"Great! The ramen shop made a new flavor! I have to say it's the best yet!" Naruto responded cheerfully, which earned a caring grin from Tsunade.

"And you Sakura?" Tsunade inquired. She hadn't seen her for quite some time.

"Just fine." Sakura replied shortly. 'Grin and bear it.' was what she was repeating to herself in her head. She had to get through this one mission, and then she could go back to her room and try and figure out just where she stands in this world.

Tsunade saw through Sakura's cheep plastered on grin and decided to go strait to the mission. "Okay, well I decided that you two have had enough of a break and should probably get back into the swing of being a ninja. I'm going to start you out with an easy mission. Border patrol. I heard that the millionaire from two countries over is coming to visit his relatives here, so there could be some dangerous people trying to get into Konoha. Capture any shifty characters and report back tonight."

While Tsunade recited the long specifics of this mission, Naruto had started to let his mind wonder. He thought back to the days were Sakura always wore that beautiful smile. He missed those days. It was all he could do not to grab Sakura into his arms and tell her everything would be okay, because she was one of his special people and he would never let anything happen to any of his special people. As soon as Tsunade finished talking Naruto quickly snapped back into this universe and nodded.

Sakura started walking out of Tsunade's office, closely followed by Naruto when they both heard Tsunade add, "And don't get off track. I'm counting on you."

As soon as the two teenagers were out of Tsunade's earshot, Naruto started whining about this mission. "Obaa-san is just sending us out on gossip missions! We don't even know if this 'millionaire' is really coming. She's just wasting our time and the resources of Konoha!"

"Since when did YOU know what resources meant?" Cocked Sakura, someone had to take over Sasuke's constant ridicule of Naruto.

"Ouch! Fine then, I'll just shut up now. Does that sound better to you?" He retorted

"I don't think you'd make it a day without talking."

"Wanna bet?"

"Ya! I'll give you all the money I get from this mission if you don't say a word this whole mission. Just tap me on the shoulder is you see anything suspicious." Sakura was going to like today. Sitting in the trees at the border on some made up mission, with no noise coming from Naruto.

"You got a deal." They shook hands, and Naruto was determined not to say a word to Sakura, even if he had a million things to ask her and to say to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 2

Sakura and Naruto were sitting in the trees on the border, enjoying a nice warm summer afternoon. Well, at least Sakura was enjoying it. Naruto was having a very hard time not talking. He was just a talkable guy, that's just who he is. Suddenly, Sakura felt light headed. She hadn't been outside in a month, and the fresh air was starting to get to her. The tree started slipping from under her and she soon found herself coming rapidly closer to the ground. As soon as Naruto realized that she was falling out of the tree he quickly jumped from the tree he was on in attempt to catch her.

He did it… but in the process he hit her head on a tree. Hard. Freaking out, he placed her on the ground and checked her vital systems. She was breathing, she had a pulse, but he knocked her out good. Calming down, he realized that she couldn't hear him anymore, so he talked. He let out his feelings toward her, his anger and frustrations toward her, and his love for her. He then realized he should take her to the hospital. 'That would be a good idea!'

At the hospital, the nurses quickly whisked Sakura away into a room to give her a look and had him wait in the waiting room. Shortly thereafter a nurse came out, looking around to find him, though, he isn't that hard to find wearing a bright orange outfit.

"Naruto, your friend Sakura got a pretty hard hit in the head. It's nothing we couldn't fix, but she's lost her memory. We're not sure if it'll ever come back." the nurse patiently explained to Naruto.

"Can I go see her?" he asked, after letting the shock settle in.

"Sure, but she might have a slight headache."

Naruto slowly walked into Sakura's hospital room, pulling up a chair next to her bed. He smiled at how beautiful she was, even though she was stuck in the hospital, with a big bruise on her head. Sakura's eyes slid open, taking their time to adjust to the lighting, then she saw some strange man sitting next to her.

"Who… are you?" She asked.

"I'm Naruto. Sakura, what do you know about yourself?"

"Well, my name is Sakura… apparently I have pink hair… well, that's about it."

'So she really doesn't remember anything.' Naruto thought. 'Should I tell her about Sasuke? No. That wouldn't do her any good. I'll tell her about her life, friends, city, everything but the fact that she loved Sasuke.'

"Do you know who I am?" She asked, putting on her oh so familiar smile that had been lost for the past month.

"Well, I am a part of your three man cell for our ninja missions."

"Really! I'm a kunoichi! That's why I know so much about ninja techniques and weapons!"

"Yup. Your best friends a-"

Just as he was about to finish that sentence Ino burst into the room, running toward Sakura and glomping her, unwilling to let go for anything.

"Who are you?" Asked Sakura as she had finally gotten the chance to see just who was hugging her when Ino backed away.

"I'm your best friend Ino!"

"Like, a pig?"

"Well, yes, but…" Ino didn't quite know how to respond to that without yelling or strangling poor Sakura, which she couldn't do due to the situation.

"Ino, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" Naruto said, with an urgent look in his eyes.

"Uh… sure. We'll be back in a minute Sakura." Assured Ino, whilst being dragged out the door by an over anxious Naruto.

'My friends sure are strange.' Thought Sakura as she lay in bed, waiting for them to come back.

"So basically, you want everyone in town to lie to Sakura about Sasuke so that she will go back to her normal self and stop being so 'miss emo-depressiveness'?" asked Ino, using her own made up slang.

"Pretty much." replied Naruto. "Now you're going to have to go tell EVERYONE about this if it's going to work. I'll tell Sakura about her life and all of her friends while you do that."

"You think I'm gonna leave while you retell her everything? Ya right. You go tell everyone, and I'll stay here."

"Ino, no one will listen to me, you have to do it. Please. For Sakura."

"Fine, but you'd better not lie to her. You are only her friend and nothing more. Let her make her own judgment about everyone. Got me?"

"Of course."

And with that Ino left the hospital to tell everyone about what happened to Sakura and what everyone has to tell Sakura about the past. That night Naruto stayed up with Sakura in the hospital until dawn telling her of her past and present, both of them waiting for the morning to come when Sakura will finally be allowed out of the hospital and to go experience the new, better world Naruto had made, just for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 3

As Naruto and Sakura walked out of the hospital a huge smile spread across Sakura's face. Even though she didn't remember anything about her life or home she felt a connection to these streets, like there have been so many memories, happy and sad, just out of reach. Naruto had arranged for the rookie nine and team Gai to meet at Sakura's house for a little, 'Glad you're out of the hospital' party. They were going to call it, 'Glad you're better'… but she still didn't have her memory back yet.

"Tell me a story about something that happened to me in these streets." Sakura said, really wondering why she felt all these strange things while passing many landmarks. At the moment, they were passing the bench where Sakura had slept the night Sasuke left. There's no way he'd tell her about that.

"Umm… let's see. Oh! That park right there? That is were we'd play tag and hide and go seek. Well, until we graduated from the ninja academy, then we had better things to do."

"Tag? That's cute, are we almost at my house?" She asked, which felt weird, not knowing where her own house was.

"Yup, it's that big white one right there." Naruto said, pointing to a small white sided bungalow, it looked quite homey and lived in.

They walked up to the house slowly as Naruto politely asked, "Would you like me to stay until your mom gets home?"

"Sure" she said with a small grin on her face. She knew he'd never try to pull anything with them alone together. He seemed like a great friend from the time he spent with her in the hospital.

The two kids walked into the entrance way of the house as they saw everyone in the house, and they all screamed, "SURPRISE!"

Sakura looked quite overjoyed to see all these people in her house, though inside she was wondering who all these people were and if she should call the cops or not. She turned to her side and saw Naruto going over and talking to some of the people in the crowd. Couldn't be too dangerous. She scanned the room and found the blonde girl, Ino, who she had met earlier. Talking to her might be a good idea, since she had to leave quickly after they met. Sakura secretly felt kind of bad for that pig comment she made. Hopefully Ino didn't mind.

"Hey Sakura!" said a boy who came up to her. He had shaggy hair with two red streaks coming down on his cheeks. The sharp toothed smile looked kind of scary, but friendly at the same time. He had a little dog on his head. It was very endearing.

"Hi. Who are you?" she said, as nicely as she could, not to hurt his feelings.

"Kiba. And this is my dog Akamaru." With that, Akamaru gave a little bark, acknowledging the situation. "I've known you, sorry, WE've known you since our early days at the academy. How are you feeling?"

"I feel quite well, though it is weird everyone here knowing me so well, and I don't even know your names. It's just a bit much." Sakura said, letting out her discomfort with the situation.

"Well, I'd take you away from this party but everyone would notice. Maybe in a bit I can sneak you out." Kiba said cunningly.

"Where would I go? This is my house." Sakura said, giggling at his half brained scheme.

"I'll think of something, but you'd better go talk to Ino. She's circling around us like a vulture waiting until I finish talking to you."

"Okay, you come find me in a bit and try and sneak me out." Sakura said with a final smile while turning to Ino.

"Hey Ino." said Sakura, just about forgetting her name.

"Hey Sakura! How do you like this party? It's pretty rockin! I hope you like it." Ino said while bouncing up in down in excitement for the whole party she planned.

"It's great! Now I'll have a chance to reacquaint myself with everyone!" Sakura replied, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"Ok. I have to go check up on the snacks to see if they need any refilling, but if you need anything just come ask me."

"Thank you Ino."

As quickly as she could without seeming rushed, she walked to the bathroom to fix up her hair. She had just gotten out of the hospital when Naruto brought her here. She didn't even get a chance to fix herself up. As she was walking to the bathroom many people she passed said hi to her, including a grown man and a boy wearing matching spandex, a boy playing go with a man smoking as if there wasn't a big party going on around them, and a guy in a big trench coat wearing sun glasses. 'I sure have weird friends.' she thought.

After going into three rooms she finally found a bathroom to fix herself up in. The only problem was that there was a girl with dark hair and white eyes in there already. After knocking on the door a couple times she finally opened it.

"Oh! Hi Sakura-chan. Is Naruto out there?" she asked, looking like she'd pass out if she said yes.

"No, he's in the living room with everyone else. Why? Is he after you or something? If he is I'm gonna go-"

"Sakura-chan! No. That's not it, it's just…" with that, Hinata put her index fingers together and looked down, in her shy little way.

"Oh. You like him don't you? Ok, now I get it. What's your name anyways?"

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"Ok, can I use the bathroom please Hinata?"

"Sure, I'd better get out of here, hey?" said Hinata, looking a little disappointed that this was the first impression she was making on her friend Sakura.

"Arigato." Sakura said as she went into the bathroom and closed the door.

It has been an hour at the party, and she had met everyone from a twenty year old with grey hair sticking straight up to Hinata's cold eyed cousin.

"Hey Sakura, ready to ditch? I'm sure no one will notice now." said Kiba.

"You know where you're going to take me?" asked Sakura.

"Actually, yes. Let's go."

"Well aren't you going to tell me?" Sakura said, kind of regretting this.

"Would it matter? You don't remember anything about this town. Let's go."

Knowing he had won, she followed him quietly as they snuck out the back door. She was glad she had such great friends that care so much about her, but meeting them all in one night and trying to remember everything they told her was a bit much for her right now. She just let Kiba whisk her out the door into the dark city.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 4

The air was brisk and the night was young. As Kiba was pulling Sakura down the streets, her eyes wondered over every curb, every blade of grass, and every shadow she saw in the distance. Although she had no idea where she was going, she was excited to get there. Giggling impulsively she let Kiba drag her around numerous corners until they finally came to a stop.

"This is the ninja academy, where you met most of the people that were at your party. All my best memories with you happened here." said Kiba, explaining why he would take her to a school of all places.

"What was your first though when you met me?" asked Sakura, staring into Kiba's eyes, as if forbidding him to lie to her.

"You were the nerd of the class, always getting everything right. I sat in the back, trying not to look so dumb in comparison to you." replied Kiba, his eyes looking everywhere but into hers.

"And to think I chose to come and hang out with some stupid kid instead of being at a party with all my friends. That doesn't quite add up. You're smarter than you think. You snuck me out of a party that was supposed to be centered on everyone talking to me." Right then, Kiba's face lit up. He was used to everyone putting him down, but right now, he felt smarter than Shikamaru! Sakura was a great friend. She was pretty, smart, nice, and no longer obsessed with Sasuke! Did he stand a chance?

"Sakura, you're great. But what I'm wondering is why you would let some strange guy you just met lead you out of your own house and drag you to some unknown location that he wouldn't even let you in on." Kiba's face was all scrunched up, with pure confusion as to why she wasn't afraid of a boy that let his puppy sit on his head.

"I didn't see how someone like you would ever want to hurt me, so I didn't think it would be that bad to let you lead me somewhere in town." Sakura replied, her voice full of honesty, without making him feel emasculated. "The only fear I have is of what Ino is going to do to me after she figures out I ditched her party." she added with a chuckle

"If we get back now, no one will know you left…" Kiba said, thinking Sakura was hinting that she didn't want to be caught sneaking out with HIM of all people.

Carefully, Sakura studied Kiba's face, looking for why he just offered to take her back to the place she had just escaped. She saw his dark and playful, yet somehow knowledgeable eyes, his messed up never been brushed hair that she just wanted to reach out and touch it to straighten up, and the way he looked at her, full of compassion and care. Slowly they leaned forward, coming closer and closer. Sakura had just closed her eyes when she heard a loud screaming noise coming from down the street. She tried to ignore it, as did Kiba, but they just couldn't, it was too annoying!

"SAKURA-CHAN!!!" squealed Ino. "SAKURA-CHAN!!!"

Kiba and Sakura turned around only to see the two most annoying blondes ever walking in the streets yelling, trying to find their missing friend.

"Run Kiba!" whispered Sakura. "They'll kill you if they find you here."

"I'm not going to leave you. I'm staying right by your side." insisted Kiba.

"That's very valiant of you, but I'm not going to be in any trouble unless they see I'm with you. I'll just say I was getting some fresh air. Now go!"

"Okay, I'm going to sneak back into your house, I'll meet you there." With that, Kiba gave Sakura a quick peck on the cheek and disappeared.

"Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto. "Why are you way over here? We were looking for you when we noticed you weren't at your party."

"I just needed some fresh air, nothing to worry about. You guys are so over protective." said Sakura, trying her best to seem angry at her friends.

"We just wanted to make sure you were alright." said Ino, sad that she had upset her friend.

"Let's get back to the party" Sakura said, remembering that Kiba said he'd be waiting there for her. She thought about that little peck on the cheek, how it comforted her to know that Kiba was waiting for her at home. She felt like sprinting back, but then Naruto and Ino might get a little curious.

With that the three ninjas walked back to Sakura's house. By the time they got back, almost everyone was gone. The only people left were the four senseis, Tenten, Neji, Chouji, and Kiba, who was a little red in the face. Only Sakura knew why.

"Well, party's over I guess…" said Sakura, a little disappointed that she'd have to send everyone home, including Kiba.

"Do you need any help cleaning up?" asked Kakashi, looking at Sakura's living room. It was covered in chips, pop cans, and other unrecognizable things clinging to the carpet.

"No, that's alright. I'm going to bed and I'll clean it tomorrow. Goodnight everyone." finished Sakura as she pushed everyone out the door. She gave a special 'I'm sorry you have to go' look to Kiba as the mass of people left her house.

'Now I'm all alone' thought Sakura as she walked to her bedroom. As she laid down in bed she thought about how she had just let some guy she had just met drag her out of her house, and bring her to the academy. Most of all she thought about the kiss he gave her, as if to say that he'd miss her for the few minutes they'd be apart. What Sakura wanted most at this very moment is Kiba to be here by her side, to tell her about her past and who she is, and to comfort her. She missed him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 5

It was a nice, cool morning. The city was calm, people opening their shops for the day's business. Sakura had slept peacefully through the night, dreaming of all her forgotten memories only to wake up with a sense of loss, wondering where her mind had gone all night. She woke up slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the light coming into her room through the one window at the high point on her wall.

"Sakura, honey, Hokage-sama wants to see you!" called Sakura's mother from down the hall. Last time her mother had called her to go see Tsunade, Sakura was at the end of a month long depression, fell out of a tree, and lost her memory. Her mother didn't want to send her out ever again, but there was nothing she could do. She, all those years ago, was the one who put her daughter into the ninja academy and now she couldn't stop her. All she could do is give her daughter love and support and pray that she will come back safe.

Sakura slipped into her ninja gear, hid a few shuriken and kunai on her person and went to say goodbye to her mom. As she walked into the living room, she noticed the mess from yesterday was gone, and order was restored to her home.

"Mom, you didn't have to clean up, I was going to do that this morning." Sakura said, feeling guilty that she made her mom clean up the horrendous mess her friends had left behind.

"It's no problem honey, I wanted to help you out." answered her mom, with a big, genuine smile on her face, "Now go see what Tsunade wants from you."

'That's right,' thought Sakura, 'The third isn't Hokage anymore. Tsunade, one of the legendary three is Hokage now. This is just too weird.'

As Sakura passed the academy on the way to the Hokage's office she was filled with the happiness of the previous night, and that sweet peck on the cheek that seemed to mean so much. 'I'm going to go visit Kiba after I'm done talking with Tsunade.' thought Sakura, suddenly missing her dog-boy.

She walked quickly up to the Hokage tower, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible, now having something she wanted to do today.

"Hello!" greeted Tsunade warmly when she saw her favorite pink haired ninja enter the room. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm quite fine. Why did you call me up today Hokage-sama?" questioned Sakura as formally as she could without seeming phony.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I wanted to know if you ninja skills have suffered from you memory loss in any way." Tsunade said, putting everything as simply and as straight forward as possible.

"Oh, that's all? What are you going to have me do?" said Sakura, wondering why Tsunade's face looked so serious all of a sudden.

"You are going to have to do a written test on ninja codes, statures, and ethics, and then you will have to fight against someone so that we can test your physical skills as well as your reaction rate. We are doing this all today." Tsunade's features looked almost like she was sad while she was saying that one of the smartest people that graduated from the ninja academy would have to be re-tested to see if she was skilled enough to continue being a ninja.

"Okay, when do I start?" asked Sakura, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible to try and lighten up Tsunade's expression.

"Now, here's the written test. You can sit at that table at the side of the room and I will be here to make sure you don't do anything you'd regret, like cheat."

With that, Sakura made her way to the desk at the side of the room and looked the test over. She remembered all there was to know out of the books she had read at the library all those years ago. This test would be a breeze.

About an hour later, she was finished the test.

"Tsunade, I'm done." said Sakura, with a sigh of relief.

Tsunade took the test from her and took out her red pen. Slowly, she read each of Sakura's answers over, seeing if she had missed any of the points. After five minutes of correcting, the she gave a quick, fake smile to Sakura and congratulated her,

"Great job Sakura, now you I'm going to have Shizune bring you to training ground three where you will prove your fighting skills. I'll be down to watch in a bit. You'd better get going now." Shizune quickly grabbed Sakura's arm and lead her out the door, seeing the destructive look in Tsunade's eyes. Tsunade didn't regret what she was about to do, but she wished there could be another way to test Sakura's memory. She didn't want to hurt the poor girl, but this was the only option.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

**A/N sorry for the lack of battle scene, but i don't know how do describe those very well**

Chapter 6

As Shizune was brining Sakura down to the training ground, she felt a strange feeling in the bottom of her gut. She felt guilty. If Sakura remembered ANYTHING from the last few months, this test was going to be very hard on her. It may even send her back into the depression that only a concussion could cure her of. As they approached the well worn training ground a figure was starting to immerge from the distance. The closer they got, the more often Shizune would look down and see if Sakura was alright. Through this enormous time of stress Shizune was going through, Sakura was feeling quite good. It was a nice day, the sky was blue, and she got to fight someone! Once they had finally arrived at the training ground Sakura looked the boy she was standing across from up and down. Then, she spoke,

"What's with the hair? I mean come on. Could it look more like a chicken came, sat down, and died there?"

That one sentence sent Shizune's head spinning. Sakura had NO idea who was standing in front of her. She was clueless as to the pain she had gone through because of him. Now, it was time for the fight. Hopefully Tsunade would get here before they were done bickering.

"Why Sakura, don't you know who I am? You used to love my chicken butt hair and bad boy outfit."

"Uh… how do you know my name? Were you at my party last night? I certainly would have remembered someone as funny looking as you."

"Okay kids, stop trash talking, I'm here now. Let the fight commence!" announced Tsunade upon her entrance into the grounds.

The second Tsunade said that, Sakura lunged forward at the figure in front of her, taking her 'enemy' by surprise. She was too fast, and scared the poor boy. A poof of white surrounded him, and the figure that emerged from the smoke was not the one that was there before. Now, standing in front of her, was Naruto.

"Shoot. Sakura, you ruined my cover! I guess you know it's me now, and not Sasuke-teme. Oh well. Let's get this show on the road." said Naruto, saddened that his charade only lasted one shot.

"Who were you disguised as? Sasuke you said? Who's that?" said Sakura, confused. She didn't remember anything about anyone named Sasuke. Nothing. They had told her last night about everyone in the village, and a few from the sand, but nothing about anyone named Sasuke. Who could he be?

"Never mind, I'll tell you later. Right now we have to battle to test your skills. Let's go!"

After an hour of Shuriken throwing, kunai slashing and ninjutsu blocking Sakura had finally beaten Naruto. Though, if Naruto had gone full force it wouldn't have happened, but he didn't want to hurt her.

"Great, Sakura it seems you're fine and you will be able to resume normal duties next week. I'll call for you later. Naruto, can I see you for a minute?" said Tsunade, thinking about the comment he made earlier, promising to tell Sakura who Sasuke was.

"I'm going to go now, see you guys later!" said Sakura cheerfully, waving to Tsunade, Naruto and Shizune. 'Finally, I get to go see Kiba!' thought Sakura as she walked away from the little group. 'But first I have to go home and shower.'

When Sakura was finally out of hearing distance Tsunade leaned towards Naruto, very seriously and asked,

"Exactly what are you going to tell Sakura about Sasuke when she asks you?"

"Oh, I did say I'd tell her about that didn't I! Well, I guess I'll tell her he was on our team, and he had a big brother named Itachi, that stupid weasel, and maybe tell her about the destruction of the clan." Naruto clearly had thought his plan through, though Tsunade didn't quite agree with it.

"YOU'RE GOING TO TELL HER ALL THAT?" she practically yelled. "No. You are going to tell her that a few years back, a guy named Sasuke killed his whole clan with the help of his brother and fled Konoha. You did not know him personally in any way. That way she'll know about the destruction of the Uchiha clan and that Itachi is evil without telling her too much about Sasuke. He'll be a miner detail, got that?"

"What do I do if she asks about why we would make me turn into him for a test?" asked Naruto.

'Wow, that's actually a good question.' thought Tsunade, impressed with how much smarter Naruto has become.

"Well, just say that Sasuke was pretty powerful, and anyone would be afraid in a battle against him, but only if she asks, okay?"

"Okay."

While all this was going on, Sakura had finished cleaning herself up and was on root to find Kiba. First she found Ino's mother's flower shop, and stopped in to say hi and ask where Kiba's house was.

"Why?" asked Ino, sad that Sakura wanted to go find Kiba instead of talk to her.

"Well, I need to yell at him for what his dog did in my living room yesterday." she said, quite content with her excuse.

"His house is just two blocks down and on the left. It's the one surrounded by dogs. If you wait five minutes I can come with you." offered Ino, trying to squeeze time in with her best friend.

"No that's okay, I'm going. Talk to you later." said Sakura as she hurried out the door. She wouldn't have minded spending time with Ino, but she wanted to see Kiba and she didn't want to have to yell at him about some non existent mess on her carpet due to his dog. She wanted to talk to him and hold him in her arms. She was on her way. She was going to go find her dog-boy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

**A/N this story will have an actual plot... soon. i promise.**

Chapter 7

Kiba's sister and mom were out of town at a veterinary conference, and left him alone to look after all the dogs. Normally at times like this he'd invite all the guys over and have some fun, but today he didn't feel like doing the usual. Today he felt like he wanted to spend the day with someone special. He wanted to spend the day with Sakura. Luckily for him, she showed up at his doorstep at noon.

"I just came by to say hello, have you eaten lunch yet?" asked Sakura, trying to be as nonchalant as she could about asking him on a date.

"No I haven't, where would you like to go?" said Kiba, sensing her nervousness and deciding to take charge.

"I want to go to your favorite restaurant." answered Sakura, not knowing where Kiba liked to eat, hoping it wouldn't be somewhere that sold dog food.

Once again, Kiba was pulling Sakura through the village while she had no clue where they were headed. She liked surprises, and was glad Kiba was comfortable enough with her to just pull her around instead of being all shy and making her choose. As the couple approached the many restaurants, many smells flooded the air. They could smell everything from cooking broccoli to fresh baked desserts. Kiba's stomach grumbled loudly which got a giggle and little snort out of Sakura, which in turn made Kiba laugh. Finally they sat down at a fancy little café.

"This is your favorite restaurant? It seems a little to fancy and sophisticated. You're just trying to impress me, aren't you." said Sakura, looking around the little café. 'Well, they certainly don't serve dog food here.' thought Sakura.

"My big sister took me here once, and I really liked it, but my friends wouldn't ever dare come in here. I don't really have any close girl friends that I would bring here alone with me. There's Hinata I guess, but her father would think we're dating and I wouldn't have much longer to live." explained Kiba.

'This wasn't his favorite restaurant, it was something special he wanted to share with me.' realized Sakura. This thought made her face go a little pink, which she tried to hide. The lighting in the café was a little dim which made Kiba look older, more mature. A lot sexier too. The walls were painted a deep red colour that gave the whole place a warm feel to it. In a million years Sakura could never imagine being in a place like this with a guy like this. It was too good to imagine. Before Sakura was about to give into the urge to kiss Kiba right then and there, she picked up a menu to keep her mind occupied. Reading through the menu, Sakura saw how expensive everything was. She tried to find the least expensive thing on the menu. 'So this is why everyone gets a salad when they go on a date.' she thought. Looking across from her she saw Kiba reading through the menu as if he was going to start drooling. Right then, the waitress came up.

"Are you guys ready to order?" she asked, a smile on her face recognizing the boy sitting across from her. It seems she enjoyed the thought of little Kiba here having a girlfriend.

"I am, Sakura are you?"

"Yes, I'd like the ceaser salad." Sakura said, trying to make it look like she didn't just choose that because it was the cheapest thing on the menu.

"I'd like the smoked salmon with a side of vegetables please." said Kiba, not wanting to ask why Sakura got the salad. Either it was because it was the cheapest thing, or because she was on a diet. He knew from talking to Ino that you never want to mention anything about diets or you'll get your butt kicked to Kansas. 'Best not say anything. I'll buy her a nice big dessert.' thought Kiba.

Away walked the waitress and Kiba and Sakura finally had time to sit down together and talk without worrying about when they were going to be found out.

"So exactly how many dogs do you have at your house?" asked Sakura, remembering the many dogs that greeted her at Kiba's door.

"At the moment we have twelve, but nine of them aren't ours. They are all either in recovery from a surgery, or being baby sat while the owners are out of town."

"So the three that are yours are Akamaru, your mom's dog, and your sister's dog?" asked Sakura, trying to figure out the math of all the dogs.

"Ya, it's kind of confusing, but you'll get used to it. The hardest part is having a dog at my house for an extended period of time and then him having to go home. Prestly left the other day." said Kiba with a tint of sadness in his voice.

The only thought going through Sakura's head right then and there was the ever so girly reaction, 'Awwwwwwwwwww.' She wanted to help him, but didn't know how to help him get over a dog leaving his care. It was an odd situation, but she still wanted to comfort him, like he did her.

"At least you'll always have Akamaru, he's not going anywhere." said Sakura, trying to make him remember his oldest and best friend.

"That's true. Hey, my sister and mom are out of town this weekend for a veterinary conference. Do you want to come over after lunch and hang out for awhile?" asked Kiba, hoping that she wouldn't think that he was some kind of pervert trying to get her into his house or anything.

"Sure, that would be great," answered Sakura, looking at the boy across from her with a smirk on her face, "as long as you don't try and pull anything while I'm there."

"I promise." Kiba said. And he meant it too. He wouldn't do that, not to her.

Soon after the food came, and the two looked down at their food with hunger. They ate their meals in relative silence, but it wasn't awkward silence, it was a friendly silence. When they were done Kiba put the money on the table and the two walked away. Sakura did feel a little guilty, letting him pay but she tried not to let it get to her. She'd pay next time. The two walked back to Kiba's house, goofing off and pushing each other in the empty streets. Silently, Sakura wished she could be this happy for the rest of her life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 8

As Sakura and Kiba arrived at Kiba's house, the sun was going down. The season was changing to fall, and the first leaves had started to change color. The sun was setting earlier and earlier. When the couple walked through the front door Sakura looked around the house. It was well kept because Kiba lived with two women, but smelt like dog. The smell was almost comforting; it reminded her of the dog-boy next to her.

"So what do you wanna do?" asked Kiba. He didn't want to seem controlling, so he gave her the option.

"Well, I'm not sure. What video games do you have?" asked Sakura, earning a surprised look from Kiba.

"There's Metal of Honor, Halo 2, well, anything good." answered Kiba. He quickly gave up on naming all his games. "They're in a stack over there." he said, pointing beside the television in the living room. Sakura walked toward the games, and browsed through them all. Kiba was expecting her to pull out some Mario game or Bomber Man.

"You have guitar hero!" Sakura screamed. She had wanted to play this since she saw it advertised on t.v. in the hospital. That's as long as she could remember!

"Yup, you want to play it?" he asked. Guitar Hero was his favorite game. He couldn't believe how non-girlish Sakura was for being best friends with Ino.

"Yun-hun!" she answered enthusiastically. Kiba set the game up while Sakura made herself comfortable on the couch. She watched him patiently, trying to understand how the game system worked. Once he finished plugging the system in, he took a seat next to Sakura. The game started, and Kiba set out on explaining how the game worked. As soon as they were settled they started to play. They played Guitar Hero for more than 3 hours before deciding they should quit.

"So, what do you want to do now?" he asked.

"Movie?" Sakura suggested.

"Sure, they're over there." Kiba, this time, didn't expect anything from Sakura. He wondered though, what kind of movie she'd pick. Was she going to go for the horror movies, the action adventure, or was she going to pick one of his mom and sister's movies?

"How 'bout this one?" asked Sakura, holding up Alien.

"You sure? It's not much of a 'second date' type movie." he said, smirking.

"I'm sure. And this is a second date is it? I don't seem to remember the first." replied Sakura, smirking right back at him.

"Well, our first date was five years ago. We went to the park together. You were my first kiss." Kiba answered honestly.

"That would be why I don't remember it. Let's make this our second first date, okay?" said Sakura, holding in tears of happiness, and sadness. She was his first kiss, and he was probably her first kiss too. If only she could remember.

With that, Kiba put the movie in and sat back down. Sakura leaned her head into his chest making herself comfortable. As the two watched the movie, their minds were going a million miles a minute, but neither of their faces showed it. About halfway through the movie, Sakura fell asleep. When Kiba looked down and saw her eyes close, he gently moved her off of him, and put her head on a pillow sitting next to him. He turned the movie off, turned out the lights, went to a separate section of the couch, and sat down. He watched Sakura sleep peacefully for a few minutes before finally drifting to sleep. The last thought that went through his mind before he drifted into his dreams was, 'Oh, she looks so beautiful when she's sleeping.'

Slowly, Sakura opened her eyes, only to see that she wasn't where she had first assumed she was. Then she realized that she had fallen asleep while watching a movie with Kiba. Looking around the dimly lit room, she found a clock. It was four thirty a.m. Slowly, as to not wake Kiba lying across from her, Sakura got up and tip toed out of the room. Just as she was a few feet from the door, she realized she should write Kiba a note saying thank you, as she may be grounded for the next little while for coming home WAY past curfew. Conveniently, there was a notepad and a pencil right beside the phone, so Sakura ripped a paper off the pad, and wrote, "Thank you Kiba for the lovely evening. I'm going to try and sneak back into my room to try and avoid being grounded. Sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, but you look so peaceful when you're sleeping. Forever yours, Sakura."

Satisfied with the note, she put it on the couch where Kiba had put her and headed out the door, still making as little noise as she could. As she walked down the streets, Sakura thought about her evening and how perfect it was. The café they ate at, playing Guitar Hero until they could barely move their fingers anymore, and falling asleep in his arms. Even if Sakura got punished for this, she wouldn't regret it. This was the date she'd dream about for years to come. Slowly approaching her house, Sakura decided she'd climb the side of the wall and get into her bedroom using the window. When she got to her house, she summoned her charka to her feet, and climbed up the wall. Luckily, her window was slightly open from earlier yesterday morning. She pulled the window open enough to slide herself through and into her room. Quickly she closed the window and crawled into bed. Sakura closed her eyes and fell back into a deep sleep, dreaming of her next encounter with the dog-boy of her dreams.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 9

It was a cool crisp morning, and Sakura had been asleep for an hour in her own bed when her mom called to wake her up.

"Honey, Tsunade wants to see you! Hurry up and get ready!"

With that, Sakura rose from her light sleep and got ready. She wasn't incredibly tired for staying up late playing games with Kiba, but she was a little hyper. Right now, she could do anything. Quickly she got herself ready for another day of keeping Konoha safe. Kunai, shuriken, scrolls, and etc. where hidden on her person. While walking down the stairs she smelt her mom cooking something, so she decided to peek in and say goodbye before she left. Maybe sneak a little bit of food. As she peered into the kitchen, she saw the table set with pancakes, breakfast sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs.

"I thought you'd have a little time to eat before you left." said her mom, proud of the meal she had made for her daughter.

"It looks delicious. How soon does Hokage-sama need me there?" asked Sakura, thinking there was something fishy going on with this. Sakura wasn't completely wrong.

"Nothing sweetie, I just thought you'd enjoy a nice breakfast before going." answered her mother with a sad look in her eye. Sakura's mom knew what mission was waiting for her daughter at Tsunade's office and she wanted to treasure what may very well be the last breakfast she may have with her little girl.

Not completely convinced, Sakura sat down and ate the delicious morning meal her mom had prepared. The pancakes had the perfect amount of cinnamon baked into them, the sausages were cooked just right, and the scrambled eggs were a perfect way to finish the meal.

"Thanks for breakfast mom. See ya when I get back." said Sakura. This comment almost broke her mom's heart. 'What if she doesn't come back alive?' thought her mother. 'What if she gets hurt?' was another thought. But the worst of all the 'what ifs' there were for her to think was, 'What if she gets her memory back in the middle of the mission?'. Sakura's mother just waved back at her daughter, face void of expression. She had never been more worried in her entire life. 'Be strong Sakura.' she said silently.

While Sakura was walking down to Tsunade's office, she had the strong urge to quickly go see Kiba. 'I wonder if he misses me as much as I miss him.' she thought to herself. Just then Sakura remembered how strange her mother was acting this morning. The look in her eyes, the blank expression on her face. If she could remember her past, she'd know just what the look in her mother's eyes meant. The last time her mother had that blank stare was right before the chuunin exams. If only Sakura hadn't hit her head, she'd know that that look meant that her mother was worried beyond belief for her. Her mother knew that if anything unexpected happened during her upcoming mission, it could mean life or death. Too bad Sakura knew none of this. Sakura resisted the urge she had to see Kiba and she went straight to the Hokage Tower.

Upon entering Tsunade's office, she was greeted with the same big cheesy smile as when she was being tested on her ninja skills. Remembering that day, she noticed that she still didn't know why Naruto had disguised himself as that guy. 'What was his name?' she thought, 'Sasnume, no, Baske, no, hmm…'

Sakura was immediately broken out of her train of though by Tsunade's loud voice. "Sakura, I'm sending you on a mission into enemy territory. You will be going to the Sound to find someone by the name of Sasuke."

"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed, that being the name she was previously trying to recall. When she realized that she had just screamed out his name, she quickly explained the outburst. "Sorry, I was just remembering the test you had me do earlier. I never got an explanation as to who Sasuke was… I was just trying to remember his name."

"O…kay, on with the explanation. So do you remember what Sasuke looked like from when Naruto turned into him?" asked Tsunade, hopeful that she wouldn't have to dig out an old photo from his file.

"Yup, he had the 'bad boy' outfit and hair like a chicken's a… I mean butt." replied Sakura, trying to remember to keep a formal tone while speaking to the Hokage.

"That's him alright." Tsunade said with a giggle, which was quickly replaced with a very serious tone. "Now you have to find him and tranquilize him. After that, you have to bring him back to Konoha. That's plan A, assuming he's at an appropriate skill level for you to do so. If he's resisting too much, you will go to plan B. Kill him." said Tsunade, handing Sakura several needles with the tranquilizer in them.

"So, who is this Sasuke kid? Why are we after him?" asked Sakura, trying to fill in some blanks.

"He lived here in Konoha when he was small then one day he and his older brother Itachi killed their entire clan and fled. I heard they had a falling out and now they hate each other." explained Tsunade, leaving out so many details it was almost hard to bear.

"So you're sending me after Sasuke and someone else after the weasel?" asked Sakura, hoping that Tsunade would say that she wasn't doing this horrible mission alone.

"We aren't going after Itachi at this point in time. It will be you out there alone, after Sasuke." said Tsunade, reassuring Sakura's nightmare.

"Alone?" asked Sakura, making sure she heard right.

"Yes, you will be leaving immediately."

Right then and there, Sakura wished she had stopped on her way and talked to Kiba. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, but now she had to go try and tranquilize some Sasume guy. 'Wait, it's Sasuke, not Sasume. Woops.' thought Sakura and then it hit her. Is this why her mom made her such a great breakfast? Her mom was worried about her. It makes sense, the look in her eyes. A sudden determination took over Sakura completely. 'I'm going to go and get this Sasuke-teme and tranquilize him, bring him back, find Kiba and tell him that I love him.' she had to survive this mission if she ever wanted to see him, or her mother again. 'I can do it.'

**A/N there you go, there's your plot**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 10

As calmly as she could, Sakura walked toward the edge of town. The sun was just coming up and leaves were falling left and right. If Sakura wasn't so nervous she'd be appreciating the changes in the weather and finding the beauty all around her. She was just too busy thinking about her conversation with Tsunade. 'You can't be distracted by anything while you are on this mission. Constant alert is necessary to your survival. Save your personal life until you get back home.' All she did to respond to that was nod. It's not like she disagreed, but the thought of not being able to say goodbye to Kiba was eating her up inside. A light sigh escaped Sakura's lips as she left Konoha for what might be her last time. Tsunade had given Sakura precise direction on where she was to find Sasuke and when she would have to be there. It was surprising to see how close he was going to be to town. Sakura had an hour of running until she was to reach her destination. With that she set off into the distance, calming and collecting herself, knowing that if she didn't do it now, she wouldn't have time when she arrived.

While Sakura was having personal issues and going on an extremely dangerous mission, Kiba was at home alone. He knew Sakura wasn't home after calling her numerous times until her mom picked up saying she was out on a mission. Lonely without her, he decided to call the guys over like he always did so they could hang out. Though, this time, it was only to get his mind off worrying about Sakura. First he called Shikamaru.

"Hello?" said Shika, picking up the phone.

"Hey, wanna come over? My mom and sister left and I got the place to myself." answered Kiba, getting it all out in one splurge.

"Sure. I'll be there soon." Shika replied before hanging up the phone.

'One down' thought Kiba. He quickly repeated the same process with Chouji, Neji, Naruto, Shino, and even Lee. Soon all the guys were over at his place, deciding on what to do.

"Let's play guitar hero!" exclaimed Naruto, who had recently become addicted to the game.

"No, let's watch a movie." argued Neji, just for the sake of arguing.

"Quiet!" yelled Kiba, breaking the chatter up. There wasn't a sound, and no one dared move. Kiba never yelled, this was weird.

"What's up Kiba, you don't yell. Is something wrong?" asked Shino, who knew Kiba better than anyone in that room.

"No, I just wanted you guys to come over; I didn't expect you all to fight."

This comment startled everyone, even Naruto. Kiba had a problem with them fighting? Something was definitely bugging him. It even looked like Kiba was going to cry.

"What are you, a woman?!" exclaimed Chouji.

"Dude, that was harsh." said Neji, "come on Kiba, what the heck is going on with you? You sick?" finished Neji, completely clueless, but at least nicer toward Kiba.

"I'm fine. What do you guys want to do?" asked Kiba, acting as if nothing happened. To Kiba, everything seemed upside down. Why had he yelled? It's not like anyone was doing anything different than any other time the guys were over. Then it hit him. He had just spent that last two days being gentile and sensitive. Everything had been quiet and controlled. That's why he wanted the guys to be quiet. Not because of anything other than he missed being with Sakura.

While Kiba was hitting self-realization, his eyes glazed over and he spaced out. Everyone around him was clueless of what was going on until Lee exclaimed,

"He has been youthful and found love!"

This simple exclamation made everyone laugh, but earned a shocked look from Kiba. When everyone saw Kiba's reaction, they got curious.

"What?!" exclaimed Naruto. "Who do you love? Do we know her? How are you the first of all of us to have a girlfriend?"

All of these questions were bringing out what Kiba was trying to hide from them. He was just trying so hard to be with Sakura; he didn't want any of the guys to ruin it. Lee would be jealous; Naruto would be over protective, and who knows what the others would think. But, he had to tell them. Kiba didn't want to lie to all of his best friends anymore.

"It's Sakura." he said plain and simple.

"Since when?" asked Shika, not really believing what Kiba had just said.

"Since that party that Ino through the day she got home from the hospital. I'm the one who took her to the park." Kiba admitted.

"You know when Ino finds out about this she's going to kill you, right?" asked Chouji. He, along with Shikamaru, was one of the few people who knew Ino's true wrath.

"It's worth it." Kiba said. Not wanting to talk about this any further, he decided to change the subject. "Do you guys want to watch a movie?"

"Sure." they all responded eventually, realizing, on the most part, that he didn't want to continue on the subject. But one little mind just couldn't help wondering.

"Just, what have you guys done together?" asked Shino, oddly curious about this hidden relationship.

"What do you mean? We went out for dinner, played guitar hero, I took her to the park," listed Kiba, not quite catching what Shino meant.

"No, like, have you DONE anything together?" asked Shino, hoping Kiba would get his drift.

"I don't get it." replied Kiba. The day went on and on like this, Kiba could be as clueless as Naruto sometimes. The group of boys were talking about the girls for quite awhile, and eventually got bored turned the t.v. on and watched a movie. It was a fun night, no matter how uncomfortable it seemed at times, but it didn't help in keeping Kiba's worried mind away from Sakura.

Eventually, Sakura had arrived exactly were Tsunade had described. It was an open field about the size of a tennis court. It wasn't very big and it had a giant tree on the west side. Sakura looked at the sun and figured that she was about half an hour early for the time she had to be there. Sitting down next to a tree, Sakura tried her hardest not to think about what she had left behind. She cleared her head of 'what ifs' and focused on what she had to do. 'I can do it' was still all she could say to keep herself there.

Meanwhile Shizune and Tsunade were arguing away in the office.

"Tsunade, you have to send backup, Sakura can't beat him!"

"She's our only hope. Everyone had a connection to Sasuke. She doesn't remember him. She is the only one who will kill him if it becomes necessary." replied an angry Tsunade.

"Well, when she comes back dead, it's all on you." Shizune finished. She knew it was going to fail. This was a suicide mission. Hopefully Sakura doesn't freak out. Their only hope was that Sasuke still loved Sakura.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 11

Kiba woke up feeling alone, which was weird considering he was surrounded by all the guys from the rookie 9 and team Gai, his best friends. He knew why though. Sakura was gone. A strange feeling was creeping down his spine, like Sakura was in trouble and he should go find her. 'She can handle herself' is what he kept telling himself, but he couldn't help feeling like he should chase after her. Knowing it would be rude to just pick up and leave while his friends were still sleeping, Kiba decided he'd have to wake them up and get them to leave somehow. Just then a messenger bird flew into his window.

"Maybe it's to send me in as Sakura's backup!" he said to himself excitedly, even though he knew it wasn't very likely. He took the message from the bird and read it quickly. It read, "Please send Neji and Lee to the Hokage tower immediately for a mission." Oh well, at least it got two people out of his place. Then he got an idea. Kiba walked right through everyone, not bothering to step around them, and stood right beside the heads of Neji and Lee.

"Wake up!" he yelled, "Lee, Neji, you have a mission!"

Just as he had anticipated, everyone sat up. Lee and Neji stood up and quickly started packing up their things, where as everyone else just glared at the loud boy that woke them from their restful slumber.

"What was that for Kiba?" asked Naruto, squinting his eyes waiting for them to adjust.

"Oh, did I wake you up?" asked Kiba in return, sounding barely innocent. At least he tried. That comment sent some sparks flying. Everyone was ready to yell at him when suddenly the phone rang. 'Phew, I'm saved.' thought Kiba.

"Hello?" said Kiba into the phone as he picked it up.

"May I speak with my son Shika please?" asked Shikamaru's mom.

"Shika! It's for you!" yelled Kiba, a little too loudly, across the room. The loud noise made Shikamaru's mother on the other side of the line squint and have pity on her son.

"Ok, mhm, ok" was all that could be heard from the boy's side of the phone. Then Shikamaru hung the phone back up.

"Guy's, I've got to go. Troublesome. Anyways, I'll see you later." he said, walking toward the door.

"Hey," said Chouji, just realizing something, "did anyone else notice that that was the first time Shikamaru said troublesome this whole time?!"

Just then the door closed, everyone realized Shikamaru had left. One by one everyone started to leave, be it because of parents, hunger, or Kiba practically forcing them out. Once everyone was gone, Kiba decided he should ask the Hokage if he could be Sakura's backup, just in case she wouldn't mind. He didn't even know where she was, all he knew was that he needed to find her. Quickly Kiba got ready, and headed out the door.

"Darn, I should have eaten before I left. At least I fed the dogs. Mom would be so angry at me if I left them for too long, so I have to get back quick." Kiba said to himself, barely realizing he was leaving the responsibility he was left with while his mom and sister were out of town. Soon enough Kiba arrived at Tsunade's office. As she looked up from her paper work and saw him standing there and gave him a startled look. He never came to visit or just to say hi. He only ever came if she called him.

"And what would you like today?" Tsunade asked, quite curious as to what would lead him here without warning.

"I was just wondering, uh, if maybe you wouldn't mind if I could go be backup for Sakura's mission." he asked, trying to avoid the imminent question of why he would want to do something like that.

"Why?" she asked, reading his eyes. She knew he wouldn't normally want to go in as 'backup'. He just wasn't that kind of guy. What was he up to?

"Well lately I've had this feeling that Sakura is in trouble, and I was just wondering where she went." he answered, not wanting to tell Tsunade about his relationship with Sakura.

"You aren't going in as her backup." answered Tsunade quickly.

"Why not?!" screamed Kiba. What was with him and screaming lately? First with the guys and now with the Hokage, this would have to stop!

"In no condition are you going to chase after her for some mysterious reason unknown to me and you are not going to go west to The Great Field to find her. You got that?" Tsunade nearly yelled, not realizing she had just told him where Sakura was.

"Fine." said Kiba, his voice controlled and level. With that he walked out of the Hokage tower, and ran toward the gates. He was going to chase after Sakura and make sure she was okay, even if it meant betraying the Hokage.

As soon as Kiba had left the building Tsunade realized that she had just told him where to find the girl he was so determined on finding. "Teme!" she screamed, and then she turned to Shizune. "Go tell someone to chase after Kiba, he's going after Sakura." she said. Shizune practically skipped out of the room. She was concerned for Sakura's safety, and now someone was chasing after her. As long as she went slow enough to tell someone to chase after Kiba, he would reach Sakura in time. Even though this would be betraying the Hokage, she had to do it. Kiba and Shizune were both on the same page. Eventually, Shizune told Kakashi to go find Kiba. Hopefully Sakura could manage until Kiba came to get her.

While all this was going down, Sakura saw a figure approaching her in the field. She remembered the hair and the outfit, but there was something different about his seemingly hypnotic eyes.

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**A/N dun Dun DUN!!! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story**

Chapter 12

As Sakura was just standing up from leaning against the giant tree on the west side of the field, she saw a figure emerging from the distance. He had chicken butt hair, a large collared shirt, and glowing red eyes. Something inside of Sakura told her to not look directly at them. 'Why are they red?' she had thought over and over. Nothing she could remember told her about red eyes. Instead of looking into his eyes she looked at his feet. He was approaching quickly, and Sakura knew she should prepare for a fight. Tranquilizer in hand she walked toward the middle of the field. Forgetting momentarily that she shouldn't look into Sasuke's eyes, Sakura raised her line of vision to see his face. He was smirking. 'How dare he!' Sakura thought. 'Smirking at me like this is some sort of joke!?'

"What's so funny?!" said Sakura, on the verge of yelling.

"It's just, why would they send you after me. Of all people. You aren't strong enough to stop me." Sasuke said, wondering why they would send some weak person to hunt him down and not an ANBU member of some sort. "And you don't even have backup, that's sad." he added.

"I can take you! It's not like I'll hesitate in doing whatever is necessary to complete my goal." said Sakura, reassuring herself of plan B.

"After all these years you're finally ready to admit I'm not in love with you? You're finally strong enough to break ties and kill one of your 'special people'? I don't believe that." said Sasuke, still sporting that grin across his face.

"What are you talking about? I have no attachment to you! You're just some random psychopath who killed his own clan!" screamed Sakura, her temper boiling. This guy was so self absorbed that he thought everyone was in love with him. What a loser!

"Sakura, my brother killed my clan. I decided to become an avenger and to restore my clan." Sasuke said, wondering what was wrong with Sakura without letting his guard fall too far.

As confused as Sakura was at this moment, she still noticed Sasuke lowering his guard. 'Maybe if I make him lower his guard a little farther I'll have an opening to attack. I just can't let any of this get to me.' Sakura said to herself.

"You killed your clan with the help of your brother, and when you left and had a 'falling out' with him. Did you kill him too?" asked Sakura, knowing full well that Itachi was still alive.

"One of my two goals in life was to kill my brother. I've not completed that task yet. First I must get to Konoha and kill Naruto, to obtain the Mangekou Sharingan." said Sasuke, like Sakura should know all of this. Finally, Sasuke had let most of his guard down. 'Man I'm a good actress!' thought Sakura, still quite confused as to what this guy was talking about.

Quickly springing into action to surprise Sasuke, Sakura dove toward him with a kunai laced with the tranquilizer. If she even scratched him just a little, it would slow him down enough to pull out the needle.

As Sakura was starting her plan to capture the infamous Sasuke, Kiba was running full tilt to save his beloved. He had been running for almost an hour and he was almost there. He'd arrive in 2 minutes. Hopefully Sakura will have defended herself, or maybe Sasuke was late. 'She's alive, I can feel it.' Kiba told himself, but he knew he had to hurry. Realizing just how much Sakura meant to him, Kiba picked up the speed, if that was even possible, and started looking to see if he could sense their chakra. There were two distinct chakras, and both seemed fine. Knowing he'd have to hurry he kept his mind clear and concentrated on the task at hand. 'I have to find her'.

Lunging toward Sasuke with her kunai, Sakura soon realized that he was no longer in front of her. 'When did he move?' thought Sakura to herself. At that moment, Sakura felt a sharp pain in her mid back. She turned around, and without thinking through the needle at the figure behind her. It got him. Sakura had gotten Sasuke with the tranquilizer, and he fell over immediately. Looking at her back, Sakura saw a large shuriken sticking out. Blood was everywhere, and the pain seemed to increase by the second.

In what felt like slow motion, Sakura fell. She would have hit the ground if Kiba hadn't been there to catch her. He had arrived the moment the tranquilizer needle hit Sasuke. Carefully, Kiba laid Sakura on the ground. Studying her wound, he quickly realized that if they didn't leave to Konoha this second that Sakura probably wouldn't make it. Sakura knew from the look in Kiba's eyes what he was thinking, and she spoke.

"Kiba, if we left now we wouldn't make it in time. It's too late." Just as these words left Sakura's lips, her life flashed before her eyes. She remembered everything. Then she realized that she had just tranquilized Sasuke. Everything he was saying now made sense. Knowing her time was limited, Sakura knew what she had to tell Kiba.

"Kiba, I love you." she said, her voice barely audible. Kiba broke in to tears, breaking down.

"I love you too Sakura." he answered. Slowly, the life was fading from Sakura. Her heart stopped, and Kiba knew he would never be the same again. Pulling Sakura's lifeless body close to him, he clung to her, never wanting to let go. Sasuke had done this to her. That boy right there, lying a few feet away from them in the field, would live to see another day. He ended the life of someone very special. Kiba wanted to go up and kill him, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. It would just create more problems.

"Kiba, what's going on?" asked Kakashi, who had just entered the field. He looked closer and saw Sakura's limp body in the weeping boy's grasps. Making sense of what had gone on, Kakashi picked up Sasuke and started back to town. He knew that Kiba would need some time to grieve. He would send for someone to come get them when he got back to Konoha.

Kiba, feeling like he could never love again, thought back on the last few days. All this started with a simple kiss on the cheek. But now he knew that the one he loved was Sakura, the one he would never see again.

The end


	13. epilogue

epilogue

It's been 10 years since Sakura's death, and Kiba is all grown up. He thinks about her every day, but his tears for the past have long since dried up. Having gotten married and had two kids Kiba can't allow himself to regret anything that happened to him, or anyone else, in his past. Though, that's not to say that he wanted Sakura dead. Long from it. He, since her death, has always asked himself the 'what ifs':

'What if she hadn't fallen out of the tree?'

'What if I hadn't helped her escape her own party?'

And he's even gone as far back as, 'What if Sasuke hadn't left?'

Kiba has always wanted to believe that everything happens for a reason, that it is out of his hands and that it is the divine will. The only thing he knows is that 'puppy love' is more then a childhood crush, that he can't turn back the hands of time, and that Sakura has changed his life forever.


End file.
